Pip and Steve, Overseas

Monday, June 17, 2013

The final post for this blog concludes our almost two-year adventure to the UK and beyond. As I write this, many of the countries we visited are in flood, Istanbul is experiencing riots and we read today that the cities hotels are experiencing a 99% drop in reservations.

We caught Istanbul at the perfect time and have certainly been fortunate with all our travels. May brings good weather without the crowds and I'd recommend anyone to travel the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year. Istanbul is likely to be the destination most remembered by both Pip and I.

Pip loved Istanbul and I grew to love it. I say this because I experienced my first culture shock/travel exhaustion when arriving in Istanbul. We arrived at the Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the Asian side which required a one and a half hour bus ride to where we were staying on the European side. This was fine and I attribute my negative feelings to the amount of travel already completed. The scale of the city, it's population, and my fatigue all caused me to dislike the place at first.

On our first day, I decided I have better get over myself. Istanbul has so much to offer that I soon forgot my unease and settled into life in the historical Turkish city. We stayed at a backpackers hostel just down from Taksim square. Route 39 was very basic and a little bit dirty but it served us well. The owner grew to like me and was very generous with helping us out. When I say that he 'Grew' to like me, I am referring to when we first arrived, he sat us down and explained the rules in a way which made us feel as if we were entering a prison. Often, these things are purely a misjudged personality and this proved to be the case. The hostel had a free breakfast on the rooftop balcony which overlooks the Bosphorus and provided a daily hit of inspiration to accompany our food..

Over the five days in Istanbul, we did all of the touristy things. Visiting the Blue Mosque, Hagia sophia, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, the Museums, Galata Tower and a day trip to Buyukada island. All of which are definitely worth seeing. Our favorite day was our visit to the island. We barely made the ferry in time and had to sit on a wooden step for an hour and a half, but the beauty of the island made it worthwhile. We took a horse and carriage to the foot of a hill and walked up to the highest point on the island from where we could see Istanbul stretch from one horizon to the other.

The other highlight of our trip to Istanbul was the food. We love Turkish food and were not disappointed. We ate at a few fantastic restaurants, we ate at the markets, and my personal favourite was a fish Kebap from a seaside vendor. The gentleman certainly took great pride in his work as his ingredients were so fresh, thus he always had people buying from him. I'll include some photos below so you can see what I mean.

We flew out from the main airport bound for New Zealand. Pip and I were both excited to go home but sad that our trip had come to an end. Not only this mini month of traveling but the 19 months we'd spent in England. It was our first major overseas adventure and the first time overseas at all for Pip. We wouldn't change a thing. We had a rough start, but the opportunities that came out of it has lead to great life experience. We now live in Wellington, but we hope to get out at least once a year to see more of the world.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

I'm
ashamed to say that up until now, I have had an impression of Bosnia
which was unfairly negative. Growing up with the war on the 6 O'Clock
news every night had left me with an impression which I'm now happy
to say I have overturned.

When
a previous flatmate once mentioned to us that he'd been to Bosnia,
the image I conjured up in my mind was of him walking down a dusty
dirt road, possibly in search of water. The breakup of Yugoslavia
which played out over my young and impressionable years had clearly
pigeonholed this country.

We
have only spent two full days here but in that time, we have seen the
beautiful Mostar with it's bridge and old town, turquoise rivers
cutting through lush green gorges which rise up to mountainous peaks
of jagged rocks as we made our way on an old bus to the capital of
Sarajevo.

The
two places we have stayed in Bosnia have been the best out of the
whole trip. I can especially say that of our place in Mostar. The
Pension Cardak is run by the most lovely couple who were very
welcoming and gave us a room which we could have easily paid five
times as much for. To top it off, they drove us to the bus station
the next morning and we were shown where the fighting was at it's
fiercest and how the city has recovered since. Having someone who has
lived their whole life in this town show us a bit of history was very
special indeed.

Everywhere
in Bosnia you will find buildings with bullet holes them. It's sure
rough around the edges but the hospitality of the people here and the
natural beauty of the country is worth coming for. Plus it's very
inexpensive and the food is amazing.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Our
Busabout tour concluded in the Adriatic seaside town of Split. We had
a final official meal which took place at one end of the waterfront.
There was a bit of drama as everyone was keen to try some locally
caught fish only to learn that they were out of fish except squid and
seafood risotto. We (except two of girls) stayed anyway and ate and
when Zakk and Claudia went outside for a smoke they noticed other
people eating fish.. Our tour leader had a word to the staff who made
excuses about the catch only just arriving.

Our
only full day in Split was spent wandering around. The central
tourist area of Split is very small and so once the random storm
passed over, Pip and I headed up the hill where we took in some great
views of the city.

We
met the few tour people left in Split for dinner that night and all
went out for a really nice meal and back to one of the hostels for a
couple of drinks.

The
next morning Pip and I were off on our own once more, this time down
the coast on a bus.

Traveling
from Spilt to Dubrovnik by bus is fantastic. The road is almost
entirely costal, and you are treated to some of the most beautiful
scenery imaginable. When we arrived and made our way to the
information center just outside of the old town, it began to rain.
What followed was a very uncomfortable hour of contacting and trying
to find our host who could not find us in the crowds of people
sheltering from the storm. We tried to find the address twice in the
pouring rain to no avail.

Dripping
wet with big heavy bags on or backs, we were about to leave the
information center one last time when I found myself standing next to
a lady who matched the description I'd been told on the phone.
Luckily I asked her as she was a very passive person, but it was
indeed our apologetic host who showed us to our amazing room in
Dubrovnik.

We
were staying in a very flash B&B style apartment two minutes walk
from the main entrance to the old town. A beautiful cove and white
stone walkways with cute apartments awaited us. This was the
neighborhood where we would be spending three nights. This is the
sort of thing that you need lots of money for right? Well not if you
do your research. Dubrovnik in May has not hit the tourist high
season yet so we found that wherever we went, we had space to
ourselves. Because of this, we got to stay close to the old town,
walked the town walls where we had all the space in the world to
explore and take photos. It was warm enough to go for a swim at the
beach but not too hot that you need to seek air conditioning all of
the time.

The
first day we explored the old town which is very beautiful, and the
second day we swam in the ocean and took the cable car to the top of
the cliff overlooking the town for views which were just
unbelievable. Having only a few people up on the hill made the
experience very relaxing as we sat in the outdoor restaurant
overlooking the city and out over the Adriatic sea sipping drinks.

If
we are to ever tour the Northern Hemisphere in future, it will be in
May. It's not hot enough for everyone else it seems, but it suits us
just fine. We can deal with a rain day here and there if you get to
experience these incredible places, usually filled with tourists, in
peace.